Benjamin Karsten
Benjamin Karsten was a Soldat, a survivor of his kind from the attack on his home country by the Shinobi. He had since held a strong resentment for Shinobi, although he had joined the Soldaten Rebels in their efforts to fight Johann Ferguson and his Blitzleute, trying to prevent them from eradicating the Shinobi. He was a high-ranking member, the other Rebels seeing him as a leader in his own right before being killed by Erich Gustaf in Liechtenstein. Background Benjamin was a survivor of the attack on the Soldaten homeland orchestrated by the Shinobi. However, ever since the Blitzleute rose in an attempt to destroy the Shinobi in retribution for the attack, Benjamin has joined the Soldaten Rebels in trying to stop them. Appearance Benjamin was tall and very skinny. He had pale skin and black hair which was long and shaggy, going down to his waist. He wore a black tank top with faded gray patterning on the front, and torn and faded jeans along with this. On either wrist he had a black band with a silver chain around it. He also had chains along the pockets of his jeans. Personality Benjamin held a great amount of resentment for the Shinobi for the latter attacking his homeland and enacting genocide against the Soldaten. However, in spite of this, he had joined up with the Soldaten Rebels, fighting against the Blitzleute who sought to destroy the Shinobi in retribution for their home country. This shows that Benjamin had tremendous moral value, however his hatred for Shinobi burned brightly. He refused to accept help from Shinobi, insulting and berating any who try. When Matt Withau was brought in to the Soldaten Rebels, Benjamin immediately engaged him in a heated argument. Daniel Heinrich had to step in, telling Benjamin to calm down as Matt was not at fault for the destruction of the Soldaten homeland. While Benjamin was still strongly opposed to allying himself with a Shinobi, he begrudgingly allowed Matt to help the Rebels. Over time Benjamin's hatred for Matt slowly faded, and he began to see Matt truly as an ally to the Rebels against the Blitzleute. This came to a point where Benjamin willingly sacrificed his own life to save Matt's, seeing the Shinobi's worth in his ability to take down the Blitzleute. Benjamin had strong leadership abilities which put him in charge of many of the Rebels' operations, commanding small teams in tactics against the Blitzleute. This shows that he was well respected by his fellow Rebels who saw him a leader in his own right. Helene Diethelm and Gabriella Clemens were both severely distraught at Benjamin's death, Benjamin telling them to take down the Blitzleute in his final moments. Abilities Benjamin had the ability to control water for both offensive and defensive purposes. His signature Kraft, Wasserwaschen allowed him to fire a high-pressure torrent of water from his palms at his enemies. This torrent is strong enough to wash them away while dealing a significant amount of damage, and could also destroy buildings with ease. He was also able to modify the technique, and instead of firing it as one enormous wave, he could split the water into dozens of tiny tendrils to attack a target from multiple directions at once. While a proficient offensive technique, Benjamin can utilize this ability for a variety of other means, such as putting a wall of water between two people to prevent them from fighting. He could also use a secondary technique, Wasserhaus, which brought about a dome of water around himself, protecting him from incoming attacks. This technique was especially effective at fending off fire attacks. He also wields a much more powerful version of Wasserwaschen known as Flusstod. This allows Benjamin to amass an incredibly large amount of water into one powerful attack that crushes the intended target with thousands of tons of pressure, leaving no room for escape. Benjamin's most deadly attack, known as Ertrinken, allowed him to engulf an enemy in an inescapable sphere of water, drowning them before he brought them down with tremendous force and smashed them into the ground. Along with his Soldat abilities, Benjamin was also a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, able to battle single-handedly against the strongest foes. He also has shown to be at least bilingual, fluent in English and German. Story Allies at the Spectrum Benjamin is first introduced when he confronts Matt Withau upon being introduced to the Soldaten Rebels by Eva Ferguson. Benjamin is greatly opposed to teaming up with a Shinobi to fight the Blitzleute because of the Shinobi having destroyed the Soldaten homeland. He insults and berates Matt, but Daniel intervenes, telling him to calm down and that Matt is not to blame. However, Benjamin challenges Matt to a fight, wanting to test his abilities. The two go outside, with Daniel and Eva following suit. The two battle outside the Rebel hideout, and Matt is impressed by Benjamin's abilities as a Soldat. However, Benjamin becomes angry with him, thinking that Matt is mocking him. However, when Matt proves that he has no ill-will against the Soldaten, Benjamin begrudgingly allows his help. As Daniel explains to Matt that the Blitzleute have headquarters in multiple European countries, he shows Matt the cargo jet that the Rebels use for transportation. Daniel then gathers the Rebels, and they board the jet to fly to Europe. As they arrive in London, Daniel splits the Rebels off into small groups, pairing Benjamin with Helene in order to cover more ground in locating the Blitzleute. Following an expansive search of the city, the London Blitzleute launch an assault against the Rebels, who scramble to assist each other. Benjamin and Helene are attacked by Marco Oswald, who quickly attains an advantage over them in combat, leaving the two injured and exhausted. Benjamin and Helene wage an offensive against Marco, but the Blitzleute member is strong enough to battle them both at the same time without being overwhelmed. Using teamwork, Benjamin and Helene pool their respective strengths to try and overpower Marco, and while they have some mild success, Marco remains too powerful even for their combined strength. When Arthur Benedict's Großnichtsfeuer decimates a part of the city, Benjamin and Helene make one final attack against Marco. As Helene distracts him, Benjamin gathers an enormous mass of water to perform his Flusstod technique, dealing an immensely powerful and fatal strike against the Blitzleute, thus ending the First Battle of London. Afterwards, the surviving members of the Rebels find a hotel to stay in for the night while they recover from the battle before resuming their search for the Blitzleute members that escaped. The next day, the Rebels split up again, and Benjamin and Helene are joined by Gabriella Clemens. As the Rebels continue their search for the London Blitzleute, Kurt Leberecht, commander of the London Blitzleute, appears before Daniel and Matt, as well as a large crowd of London citizens. Kurt accuses the Rebels of being responsible for the destruction brought upon London the previous day, inciting anger in the Londoners and provoking them to attack the Rebels. As Matt and Daniel engage Kurt and Arthur in battle, the other Rebels begin closing in on the scene. Benjamin eventually arrives to intervene in an incursion between Matt and Kurt, distracting Kurt so that Helene could hit him with Tollen Körperteile, dealing him a fatal blow. With the Second Battle of London having concluded and the London Blitzleute defeated, the Rebels fly to Paris to combat the Blitzleute members residing there. The Rebels travel as one large group citing information that the Parisian Blitzleute are stronger than their London counterparts. As the group explores the city of Paris, they are eventually surrounded by the members of the Parisian Blitzleute who set them up for an ambush. Daniel pairs the Rebels off against singular enemies just before Fritz Gundolf of the Blitzleute engages them in battle. Matt fights him, but is seemingly lethally wounded by one of Fritz's exploding Michmachen clones. However, Matt emerges unharmed and with his Curse Mark active. Matt attacks commander of the Parisian Blitzleute Anna Dietrich before resuming his battle with Fritz. Fritz seemingly quickly falls to Matt's superior strength, but as battles begin to spring forth between the Rebels and Blitzleute, Fritz reveals himself to have survived. Daniel tasks Benjamin, Helene, and Gabriella with fighting Fritz, and the three engage Fritz in combat. As battles are wielded all over the city, Benjamin narrowly escapes one of Fritz's exploding clones before launching a counterattack against the Blitzleute member. Gabriella and Helene wage their own offensive as well, and while Fritz puts up a valiant effort, he quickly falls to the three high-ranking Rebels. Towards the end of the Battle of Paris, Benjamin engages a very weakened Anna, who is unable to put up a counteroffensive as Benjamin catches her in his water ability. Using his Ertrinken technique, Benjamin kills Anna and thus ends the battle, leaving Paris devastated. Daniel orders a retreat by the Rebels, and they all escape the scene, finding a hotel to rest in for the night. The next day, Benjamin is tasked with watching over injured members of the Rebels, including Helene, who are too exhausted to continue moving. After the Rebels recover, the group moves onto Switzerland where they battle three Blitzleute members residing there. The battles are short-lived, leaving the Rebels to rest in the country for the night. The next day, with only one Blitzleute member in Liechtenstein remaining aside from Johann Ferguson's forces in Munich, the Rebels begin travelling to Liechtenstein. However, Benjamin suggests that it would be more efficient to send a small team to Liechtenstein to deal with the lone Blitzleute member there while the rest of the Rebels move onto Munich. Daniel agrees, and he sends Benjamin, Helene, Gabriella, and Matt to travel to Liechtenstein. As the group arrive in the city of Vaduz, they are quickly confronted by the Blitzleute member Erich Gustaf. The Rebels engage him in battle, but Erich's abilities prove to be a challenge even for the four of them. As they attempt to battle Erich, the Blitzleute beats them all back, cutting them off from one another as Erich turns his attention towards Matt. Matt, who is too injured to fight back, is left to watch as Erich prepares to kill him. However, Benjamin intercepts the attack, sustaining a fatal injury that leaves him bleeding out on the ground. Matt engages Erich in one last battle as Helene and Gabriella come to Benjamin's side. Helene expresses heavy grief as Benjamin bleeds out in her arms, and Benjamin explains to her the importance of defeating the Blitzleute. As Helene promises to do everything in her power to defeat Johann's forces, Benjamin jokingly tells her to not let have Matt have the last laugh. He also tells her not to let Johann win before dying in Helene's arms. Trivia *Benjamin's last name was never given in the series. It was only ever given by the author as information for the wiki. Category:Character Category:OC